Do you remember the first time that you heard Rihanna‘s hit “Umbrella?” I do. I was in a tiny little bar in Munich, Germany in the summer of 2007 when the Barbadian singer’s voice started blasting out from the loudspeakers. That night, I headed back to my hostel with a happy buzz and a hot, new tune stuck in my head. And guess what? It remained that way for the rest of the summer.
While “Umbrella” wasn’t Rihanna’s first big hit — it was released on her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad and “SOS,” her first big-league single, dropped the year before on the album A Girl Like Me — it did turn me into a Rihanna fan. Now, five years later, I am anxiously awaiting the release of Rihanna’s seventh studio album (which is rumored to be called 7 Wonders). And while it’s not set to drop until November, my Rihanna thirst has been quenched with the release of her new single, “Diamonds.”
If you were a fan of Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” then you are probably going to take to this new single instantly. “Diamonds” starts out with a melody that can easily be compared to that of “We Found Love” — and the melody carries on throughout the song. The beats for “Diamonds,” though, do go a bit slower than “We Found Love.” But, Rihanna’s undeniable epic rhythm can still be found in this single.
Vocally, Rihanna is as strong as ever in this new love ballad — and the lyrics only add to bolster the singer’s musical talents. You can clearly hear the passion that Rihanna pours into this song. It’s as if her heart is crying out for her loved one (hopefully not Chris Brown) when she sings lines like, “When you hold me, I’m alive,” or “At first site I felt the energy of sun rays / I saw the life inside your-eyes.”
And whether or not Rihanna is serenading about Brown in this latest single, the fact is that she definitely has another hit on her hands. They are already blasting the song on the radio — I even heard it on my breakfast break playing over the speakers in the cafe where I order my ritual ice tea. Now, all I need to do is put this song on Spotify replay for the rest of the day.
You can listen to “Diamonds” below and read the lyrics on the singer’s new website Rihanna7.com, that launched Tuesday.
Follow Lindsey on Twitter @LDiMat.
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